Chapter Text
Rachel was glad that therapy was done. Going home sounded like a good plan to her and she was all ready to walk with everyone else. However, her therapists knew better. Her body was much too tired to be walking any further so Scott ordered her a wheelchair, and when the wheelchair was moved toward her she shook her head no and started to take a step backward, using Shelby as leverage. “Come on love, we’ll go home, have something to eat, and let you rest properly,” Shelby said kindly.
“N.no,” Rachel said.
“No what?” Shelby asked. “We can talk about whatever it is, but you need to use more words than just no,” Shelby explained remaining patient.
“N.no ch.ch-air. I wah-alk,” she pushed out carefully.
“You’ve done enough walking for now sweetheart. The chair will get you and the rest of us, to the car quickly so we can go home and have lunch. You can practice walking more later on,” Shelby said and Rachel set her mouth in a stubborn line and shook her head no pulling away from the wheelchair. She didn’t want it.
“N.no ch.ch-air,” she pushed out angrily.
“Hey, lose the attitude baby. I know this isn’t ideal, but your body needs to rest right now. When you are at home and done with lunch, I’ll let you walk around,” Shelby said.
“NO!” Rachel screamed and the other three girls backed away. They knew that was not allowed and by the look in Shelby’s eyes, she was not going to let it slide either.
Shelby took a deep breath and knelt down, looking up at Rachel and she fixed her voice to be very steady. “We are in a very public space, this is your first and last warning before I take you to a more private area and we deal with this unless you pull it under control. You are not to scream at me little girl. You know what happens when you push limits and throw a tantrum,” Shelby cautioned her and Rachel looked everywhere but at Shelby and it was making Quinn nervous. Everything still had to be perfect and right now, Rachel was messing it all up. “Now, I know you don’t want to, but this is how we are getting out of therapy today,” Shelby explained seriously.
“NO!” Rachel screamed again and Santana covered her eyes and shook her head. Rachel was being very stupid, as far as Santana was concerned, but she’d seen something like this before. She knew it would be okay, but she also knew Rachel was about to get spanked and she wasn’t sure she liked that.
“Sanny, Bree, and Quinnie, there is a seat right over there. The three of you will sit, right there, until I return,” she said sternly and she never took her gaze off Rachel, she simply gave calm orders, too calm almost, and the three girls quickly obeyed their Mistress’s order. There was no mistaking it. “Rachel look at Mama,” Shelby said sternly and Rachel fixed her gaze, glaring at Shelby in rebellious anger. “You and I are going to the bathroom and you are going to be punished for screaming at me,” Shelby told her and before Rachel could truly comprehend what was happening, she found herself being carried to the bathroom.
Shelby went in, set Rachel on her feet, steadied her, locked the door, and then sat on the toilet and had Rachel stand in front of her. “Why am I disappointed in your behavior young lady?” she asked her and Rachel started to wiggle and fight. She didn’t want a spanking, she wanted to go home, she just didn’t want to ride in the wheelchair.
“No Mama,” she pushed out evenly and Shelby sighed. The adrenaline rush, that was probably being caused by fear right now, was taking the stutter away and Shelby had to be careful.
“Absolutely yes. You are going to answer my question,” Shelby told her seriously and Rachel whimpered. “You can be upset. I know you don’t want this, but you earned it and I want you to tell me why,” Shelby explained, keeping her voice calm and gentle right now.
“No chair Mama, no. No chair,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears.
“There is no other way out of this building young lady. You very much earned what you are about to get and I want to know what it is that you did that earned you this spanking,” she told her young charge.
“S.s.scr,” she pushed out.
“Breathe, we have time,” Shelby said kindly and she carefully pet Rachel’s face. “Mama is still going to spank you for what you did, because that is how we handle punishments in our house. Yes you are still in your probation time, but there are rules to be followed and you and I went over some of those rules. Do you remember what one of our top rules are?” she asked her.
“Re-s-s-sp-pe-ect,” she pushed out. She was stuttering again, but it seemed to come and go, So Shelby wasn’t too concerned about it. Right now, she had to focus on Rachel’s punishment.
“Very good, and is screaming in Mama’s face respectful?” she asked her and Rachel shook her head no. “Very good, and now you’re going to be spanked for what you did and then it’s all over and we will go home. You are going to ride out to the car in a wheelchair. When we get home then you can walk around and practice some more, but for now you are done,” Shelby said seriously and she carefully pulled Rachel over her lap and spanked her fully clothed bottom firmly about twenty time, while lecturing her that one of the top rules in their house was respect and Rachel had broken that rule by screaming. It was killing Shelby to have Rachel crying so strongly. She knew she wasn’t using a lot of force, so it was concerning to her that Rachel was so upset. She finished spanking her and helped her to stand, letting there be some distance between them, in case Rachel needed that time to figure out what was going on. However, Rachel was just like her sisters and she fell into Shelby’s body, needing to be reassured.
Shelby was more than glad to cuddle her close. Rules and restrictions were in place and followed at all times, but Shelby and Will were very big on giving their girls love and affection, because clearly they needed it. Once she was calmer, Shelby rubbed her back and spoke kindly. “You my darling are a very good girl and I do love you and care about you very much,” Shelby said. “I respect you enough to be sure you always know right from wrong, and I respect you enough to listen to what you have to say. You may not always get your way, but I will listen and explain to you why your way won’t work in the moment, if that is the case,” Shelby explained.
“No chair Mama,” Rachel whimpered and Shelby held her just a little bit closer. She didn’t know if her voice was calm because she was completely calm, or if her body was coursing with adrenaline in a flight or fight moment. She wasn’t tense though, she simply held on to Shelby and told her she didn’t want to ride in the wheel chair.
“Alright love, tell Mama why,” Shelby said kindly.
“Nah-not a b.b.bay-bee,” she said softly.
“No you are a not a baby, you’re a beautiful young lady who is going through a lot of therapy because some very mean people did some very bad things to you, causing you to have surgery, yes?” she asked and Rachel nodded her agreement. “You are also my beautiful girl, who has just worked very hard in therapy lessons so that you can start walking normally on your own again, yes?”
“Veh-ery ha-ard,” she pushed you.
“I know I saw you and I am so proud of you. You did everything Mr. Scott told you to do and then some. I don’t know if I would have worked that hard if it were me, so I’m extremely proud of you. Now, I want you to think. Do you think your body can push that hard all the time and never give it a rest?” she asked.
“I.i.i ha-ave tuh-to,” she pushed out carefully.
“And why is that sweetheart? Why is pushing so hard, for so long a good thing?” Shelby asked kindly.
“S.s.so I ca-an b.be y.y.you-s.s.s-ful,” she said.
“Who thinks you are not useful?” Shelby asked cautiously. She was expecting Rachel to say her Sirs and launch into some explanation about how if she wasn’t useful they would ‘punish’ her until she figured out what type of useful they wanted and how she could best serve them and that meant going all the time. That was not the answer she got.
“M.m.my D.d.da-ds,” she said.
Shelby took a deep breath and kissed Rachel’s temple. “I want you to listen very carefully to Mama,” Shelby told her. “Your fathers are very wrong. Every person is useful, no matter what pace they move at. Your pace right now can be fast, that’s fine, but I don’t want you running at a fast pace or full speed all the time. Your body is like a car and if you don’t give the car a chance to slow down every once in a while, the car is going to overheat and stall out. Do you understand?” she asked.
Rachel nodded and thought for a moment. “N.no ch-chair Mama, puh. lee.ease,” she pushed out carefully.
“That chair doesn’t make you a baby Rachel. That chair helps you rest. That chair gives you the time you need to let your own engine cool down and rest, and then riding in the car home will allow you to cool down further,” Shelby said. Rachel whimpered but didn’t let go of Shelby and didn’t complain anymore. She was too tired to fight. She just let Shelby guide her and reassure her. Much to her dismay she was put in the wheelchair, but no one said anything like she thought they would. The receptionist on their way out, told her she did a good job in class. The doorman told her to have a good day and Brittany, Santana, stood on either side while Quinn pushed. She oddly felt protected, but she also still felt like she wasn’t being useful. She was making other people use their time to help her. It was an internal struggle that she was going to have to work on.
By the time they got home, Rachel was sleeping in the car. Therapy had worn her out more than she wanted to admit and her body needed to rest. Pulling into the driveway, Shelby saw Will’s car and smiled. Her husband was home safe. Shelby knew that Rachel’s previous Sirs didn’t know too much detail about the community, but if they remembered Will’s profession, they could find him at work and Shelby didn’t want that. Santana was trying desperately to get out of the car as fast as she could and Shelby sighed. “Sanny. it’s okay, you don’t need to rush,” Shelby told her as she got out of the van and opened Santana’s door for her. Santana bolted out of the car and ran inside, needing to see her Daddy and know he was safe.
Quinn went in after her, very curious as to what her sister knew and she didn’t. Something was up. However Quinn went inside, saying nothing, and that left Shelby to stand outside the car and smile at Brittany. “You first baby girl. I’ll have to carry Rachel in and let her rest properly for a little while,” Shelby smiled and Brittany nodded her agreement. Shelby very carefully maneuvered Rachel into her arms, being sure to avoid the sore point on her hip from when she fell at therapy. Once she was set, she locked the door to the car and went inside the house to find her husband on the phone and grinning from ear to ear.
“Yes Sir, thank you very much,” he said and he walked over to Shelby and kissed her cheek while petting Rachel’s back. “They are complete fools and we are perfectly safe. They are being detained for tonight,” he said. “They have to contact a few people in order to see if charges are going to be pressed. One of those people being Bruce Miller, as he is the last one to be listed as Brian’s next of kin,” he said and Shelby grinned. “The girls are having apple slices and peanut butter at the moment,” he told her.
Shelby nodded and set Rachel down on the couch, covering her with a blanket and sitting next to her, petting her gently, helping her to stay asleep. “Sanny knows,” she told Will softly. They needed to be on the same page about informing their girls and right now, they weren’t.
“That was quick,” Will said with some shock. He and Shelby agreed to tell the girls together.
“I know, I’m sorry, but I had to. We had a discussion. A proper discussion with the paddle that resides in my car, in the bathroom, while therapy was going on. The attitude was unreal and I as I sat there giving her a lesson in respect and truthfulness and communication, I couldn’t be a hypocrite and not give her all the information I had at the moment. She specifically asked why I told her such scary information and I specifically told her that she asked for our reasoning in keeping them home from work. I couldn’t leave that part out. Respect goes both ways, and she deserved the truth. They all do,” Shelby said. Will nodded, he could see Shelby was torn about what she’d done, so he pulled her up into his arms and kissed her.
“I don’t think your timing was so great, but you’re right, she was going to find out eventually. You are also correct in that we can’t be hypocrites. Our girls are not truly little girls, they’re just little to us, because this life style is still so new to them. Has she spilled the beans yet?” he asked.
“No, she’s been very good and at some point, the three of us need to sit down and discuss her role in this house. She’s not sure if she’s a pet or a daughter, or what, and that is confusing her as well,” Shelby explained.
“Then why don’t we all go have a little talk now, while they eat and Rae sleeps off therapy,” he said.
“I kind of want her there for this. I don’t even want her sleeping now. I want her awake and burning up as much energy as possible, because your mother is coming for dinner tonight, and at bed time, Rae and I are talking about diapers. I’m going to put her in them.”
“I thought we weren’t going to force it? She’s only been with us for a day and a half now.”
“She’s wet her pants a good number of times though and she’s starting to run out of clothes and develop some serious skin irritation. It’s not a full blown rash, but it’s close, and if we wait too much longer she is going to have that problem and really feel like a baby. I have a plan. I know what I want to say, and after watching her in therapy I’ve got examples to back me up. She needs to be in them. She needs to know it’s for protection at the moment, so she can go out of this house and not have to worry that when a bell rings somewhere she’s going to have wet pants and everyone will be staring,” Shelby explained and Will nodded.
“Well I think she worked very hard in therapy this morning, she’s got water therapy tomorrow afternoon and I think our girls need to know what’s going on with her tormentors as soon as possible,” he said and Shelby nodded her agreement. “So for now we let her sleep. We can explain things to her when she wakes up, but for now, we at least tell them,” he said and Shelby sighed, but nodded her agreement. He was right.
Together they walked into the kitchen and smiled. “Oh God, what did we do?” Quinn asked nervously. Her Miss and Sir had very determined looks on their faces. This conversation was about to be very serious.
“Guilty much?” Santana teased.
“Sanny,” Will warned her and he took a seat next to Quinn. “The three of you haven’t done anything. We want to inform you girls of a few happenings,” he explained as Shelby moved to the island counter, fixing up the marinade for the chicken dinner they were going to have as a family. “Who knows why Rachel came into our circle?” he asked and Brittany raised her hand.
“She was Aunt Terri’s patient Daddy,” Brittany said kindly and Will nodded.
“That is very good Bree. Any other guesses?” he asked.
“Rae had Sirs before she came here, so Aunt Terri wanted her to be with a good Sir and Miss and find happiness like we did, because where she was, was not happy,” Brittany said.
“I’ll take that,” he grinned and then he looked up at the white board. “Those are good sentences Sanny, I’m very proud of you,” he praised her. “Do you want to tell your sisters who rang the doorbell this morning?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
Will nodded and gave her her space, he could see she was scared and he didn’t blame her.
“GET OUT!” she yelled.
“That isn’t how I trained you, and that isn’t how you should speak to any customer!” the woman said in a dangerously low voice.
“Get Out!” Santana growled.
“Where is your manager, you should be fired on the spot for being so disrespectful. I see no one has been able to teach you anything at all Samantha,” she said with a glint in her eyes that made Santana want to slap her across the face, but she refrained from doing so.
“You are not welcome here. We have a policy that we don’t have to serve everyone, so leave,” Santana said.
“You haven’t learned a God-damned thing!” Kate laughed and she shoved Santana backward and just like that Santana was back to being a paralyzed with fear by a woman who really had no power over her any more. “There is something called respect young lady and you have none!” she said and she continued to push Santana’s buttons, while patrons of the diner stared in shock and several pulled out their phones to record this. “There is plenty of ice in that machine over there. I’m sure all of these people would be glad to see you learn your lesson,” Kate growled.
“Hey!” some man shouted and he raced over toward Santana, helping her up off the floor, seeing how scared she looked.
“And who the hell are you?” Kate asked.
“My name is not your business. The fact that this is my niece, is completely your business. I suggest you apologize to her and leave, or I will make it my life’s mission to get your name and your address and press charges for assault and battery,” he said calmly and she studied him carefully. He had to be bluffing. There was no way Santana had family. She never said anything about having a family ever before, so Kate very much doubted that this man was telling her the truth.
“Who is this man Samantha!” Kate barked.
“Her name, is Santana, and we’ve both asked you to leave this establishment,” the man warned.
“You are bluffing!” Kate yelled and the man before he protectively pushed Santana behind him.
“I am not bluffing. You’ll be hearing from a lawyer later today,” he said and then he looked to see the owner. “Hey Tony? Can you please put this woman on your do not serve list?” he called in. “Good day madam,” he said to her and blocked her way from getting any further into the building.
Kate left in a rage and Tony walked over to Santana and Justin. “You just cost me money,” he said in annoyance and then he noticed Santana. “You know what, it’s okay. Santana take the rest of the day off. Go home, collect yourself, relax, and come back in two days for your shift as normally scheduled. I will hold your tips for you,” he said and Justin nodded his approval. He lead Santana into the back and smiled at the rest of the patrons in the diner.
“Show’s over folks. Remember we don’t charge extra for the entertainment, so be sure and leave a good tip,” he said and then he brought a terrified Santana into a back hallway and called up Will. Santana’s eyes were darting around, looking to be sure that where she was, was safe and finally she focused on Justin. She hugged him tightly, still trembling and didn’t let go. “It’s alright Sanny, I’m calling Daddy for you right now, and then Uncle Justin will take you home okay?” he asked her gently.
Quinn saw the look on her sister’s face and remembered the last time she saw it. “They came here!” Quinn asked in shock.
“No!” Will said quickly and sternly. “No baby, they didn’t. It wasn’t them. They did send someone, but they didn’t come here. They didn’t want to risk being seen.”
“Mama, can we set the alarm now?” Brittany pleaded, eyes already filling with tears, out of pure fear for not only Rachel’s safety, but all of them.
“We don’t need to baby, because the terrible men have been caught and are being held by the police right now. They are not going to be let go either, because Mister Bruce is pressing charges on behalf of Rachel and Brian,” he said.
“Her Sirs,” Brittany started and realization came over her face. “You mean they, oh God,” Brittany said and she turned and threw up on the kitchen floor. It was much too much to even think about Brian dying; someone she didn’t know. To know that Rachel could have died the same way, by the same men, and Rachel was someone she knew and cared for as a true member of her family, a sister, that was just too intense for her, and so she threw up.
Shelby moved to clean it up quickly and then turned her around the other way and knelt in front of her. “Yes baby girl. It’s the same people. Rachel’s Sirs are the ones who tortured Brian and now we’ve found them and they are going to get the punishment they deserve.”
“I hope it’s the death penalty,” Quinn spoke up and her voice had nothing but anger in it.
“Quinn!” Brittany said in surprise panting slightly as her body recovered from emptying the contents of her stomach.
“No! Don’t Quinn me!” she protested. “This sucks. This completely officially sucks. Our biological parents all hated us. We all managed to survive somehow and then we were put together and we hated each other, because we didn’t know how to feel anything else. Then we figured out we lived with a monster and she tortured us for three months, before she gave up and threw us away like we were garbage. She made all of us feel like garbage and now we’re so completely destroyed we don’t know how to feel anything other than anger! We get angry about anything and everything. Rachel was abandoned by her parents and found men who deceived her and they nearly killed her. She was with them six times as long as we were with that monster! They are killers, they deserve to die. I know that we are taught to love and we’re told that we are loved, more than we ever heard it before, and we’re showed it, but they came looking for her. They targeted her. They killed someone and for all of those reasons, they deserve to die!” Quinn said tears falling down her face at a good clip.
“Why are you crying baby?” Will asked her kindly.
“Because I hate that I want people to suffer. I don’t want to be a bad person or wish bad things, but Rachel didn’t deserve any of what they did to her, and I hate myself for feeling so angry,” she said. “I hate that we think what we had wasn’t so terrible, because she survived a hell of a lot longer than we would have lasted and she was by herself. She had no one!”
Will nodded and very cautiously reached for her hand. He was slightly surprised when she grabbed it and then moved to sit in his lap, holding on tightly. He held her close and spoke kindly to all of his girls. “For what they did, they will probably get a severe sentence sweetheart. It would be better if Rachel decided to press charges as she is the most recent person they injured,” Will explained.
“Quinnie, she has us now,” Brittany offered softly and Quinn nodded her agreement. It was true, but Quinn still felt angry that she wanted bad things to happen to other people. Granted they were people who had done bad things, but she didn’t think that two wrongs made a right.
“Quinnie, do you want to talk about it any more?” Will offered and Quinn shrugged. “Why don’t you come up to my room with me. We’ll just sit in the quiet room together,” he said and she nodded and went to him, feeling completely guilty, needing him to just be there for her. “And my other girls?” he asked.
“I want to stay with Rae-rae,” Brittany said and Santana nodded her agreement.
Will nodded and he and Quinn stood up. He took her hand and then her wrist, the same as Shelby would do to them, and lead her upstairs into the master bedroom. He took a seat in the rocking chair in the room and pulled her into his lap. She cuddled into him and realized that while she was still angry, she actually felt love.
Will cuddled her tight and began rocking gently, with Quinn sitting sideways on his lap and she was now resting her head on his shoulder. Her breathing had slowed and he simply rocked her in a quiet room, letting her just be. She needed to feel safe and loved and come to terms with whatever was going on in her heart and her head. “I don’t think two wrongs make a right Daddy,” she told him.
“I agree,” Will told her kindly.
“Then why do I want bad things to happen to the bad men who hurt Rae?” she asked, not liking how she felt.
“I think it’s because you have accepted Rachel as a part of our family. You may even accept her as your sister, or you may even have figured out that you love and care for her the way you do Sanny and Bree,” he said.
“She suffered for so long Daddy,” Quinn said sadly.
“We don’t actually know that sweetheart, because she hasn’t shared her entire story with us,” Will reminded her gently.
“Mean people are always mean I think,” Quinn said.
“Some are, yes,” he said in agreement and the two fell quiet for a very long time.
“She deserves love and care and good people around her,” Quinn said finally.
“She does and we’re going to make sure she gets that and we’re going to make sure she understands that she doesn’t have to be a pet. The four of you may have thought you wanted that and if you do, that’s fine. You all get to make that choice though, and now, you all get to make it in a safe environment,” Will said and Quinn nodded her agreement.
“Maybe she’ll feel more at ease when we have dinner with Grandma tonight,” Quinn said hopefully.
“I do hope so my love,” Will smiled and the two fell quiet again.
Rachel woke up and gave her body a chance to figure out where it was before she moved. She figured out she did hurt, but she knew that was from therapy lessons with Mr. Scott. She’d been there for three hours. She worked incredibly hard and then gave Shelby a hard time about going back to the car in a wheelchair and got herself spanked. She wasn’t sure what was going on now, so she looked around the room to determine where she was and what time it was. She carefully pushed herself up on to all fours, balancing on the couch cushions and then noticed the large clock just to the right of the fire place. She now knew she was in the family room and very carefully rolled herself to a semi standing position. She was up on her feet, knees slightly bent, hips pushed as far back as she could get them, a flat tabletop back, and hands pressed into the couch. She listened and heard other voices in a room nearby. She had a general idea of the house layout, but still wasn’t quite sure which room was which so she decided to just wait a moment.
Most of the voices she heard she recognized. One voice belonged to Shelby, the other belonged to Santana and the third sounded like an older version of Terri. Rachel decided that staying in the living room was not a good idea, so she thought about going to find Shelby. It seemed like the most logical step. However walking was not going to be an option so she thought for a moment. It was bad and made her seem extra young, but she wasn’t going to stay by herself all afternoon, she was going to go see her Mama. She very gently lowered herself to the floor and started to crawl over toward the kitchen. She’d take a few ‘steps’ and then pause, waiting for the voices to continue to see if they moved. When she realized they didn’t, she continued and suddenly blushed. She didn’t want to appear to be a toddler, but she didn’t know how else to get where she wanted to go. Luckily for her, Santana saw her first and politely excused herself from Shelby and Rose. “Hey,” she said softly, getting down on all fours next to Rachel. “I’ll help you walk, if you want,” Santana offered.
Rachel nodded and very carefully the two got Rachel to her feet. Once she was standing Santana got under her right side and Rachel looked at her curiously. “Uh-are, yuh-ou sh-sh-ure?” she pushed out carefully.
“I was watching you in therapy. You drag this foot, so if I get under you and lift you up a tiny bit, maybe you can coax it to do what it’s supposed to do,” Santana said. Rachel nodded her agreement and they very slowly started to walk toward the kitchen and Santana smiled. “You’re doing really well,” Santana praised her as she took four actual steps. They were tiny but she was able to take them, which was really all that mattered. Any step was progress as far as Santana was concerned. Rachel didn’t quite agree with her, but she wasn’t going to argue the point at the moment. It didn’t seem worth it.
“Hey there baby girl,” Shelby smiled looking up to see two of her girls walking into the kitchen together. She moved over toward them and they both stopped. “You’re doing very well Rae,” Shelby praised kissing Rachel’s temple. “And you are being a wonderful helper Sanny, thank you,” Shelby praised her kissing her as well. “Did you have a good rest?” Shelby asked, choosing her words very carefully. Rachel seemed to want to try, and using younger language was either going to put her in a bad mood, or make her feel badly about herself. Rachel simply nodded and Shelby carefully wrapped her in a hug. “You were sleeping for a few hours, would you like a drink?” she asked her and Rachel thought for a moment. She was thirsty, a drink would be okay, but she didn’t want to drink too much. Any extra fluid should be avoided, because if one of the damn bells rang, she would wet herself for sure. She was down to her last pair of clean sweatpants for the day. Everything else was in the laundry at the moment.
“Y-yeh-ess puh-uh-lee-ease,” Rachel said carefully.
“You’re safe here Rae, I promise,” Santana told her kindly and Shelby smiled at her girls.
“Sanny, go up and tell your sisters that I need them to come set the table for me, then you can come back down and help me in the kitchen,” Shelby said. “Daddy should be back very shortly and we’ll all sit down to dinner,” she explained.
Santana nodded and left, leaving Rachel and Shelby alone in the space between the kitchen and the family room. It was an open area, but Rose wasn’t standing by the oven where she could see anything. She was currently seated at the island waiting for Shelby to return while helping herself to a glass of apple cider. “Mama,” Rachel said softly and steady.
“Yes baby?” Shelby asked gently.
“Huh-who he-ear,” she pushed out, not wanting to say too much more. She hated her stutter. She didn’t know where it had come from or why it was so strong, but she had it. The good news was it was improving. She didn’t see it that way of course. She wanted to be perfect for the people who had taken her on as a pet and she was sure she wasn’t being perfect. No one had used her yet. No one had forced themselves upon her in any way, all they did was love her from afar, while somehow remaining right on top of her and it left Rachel very confused.
“Well why don’t we go into the kitchen and find out,” Shelby smiled and Rachel nodded, but didn’t budge. “You were walking with Sanny, but you had a lot of therapy, do you want to walk with my assistance now, or should I carry you?” she offered.
“N-n-nah-ot a b-b-bay-b-b-b-be,” she whimpered.
“No you are a not a baby. Me carrying you doesn’t make you a baby. It makes you one of my girls that I love very much, who is having difficulty with something at the moment. I won’t carry you if you don’t want me to, but I don’t want you to work so hard that you hurt your body, or tire out your muscles so much you get cramps,” Shelby explained and Rachel seemed to understand that. However, in Rachel’s mind cramps were a good thing. The pain reminded her that she deserved every bit of what she was getting for not serving the people who’d taken her in. So she decided to walk on her own.
“W.w.wah-alk,” she said.
“Alright, nice and steady then, take your time,” Shelby said and she got on Rachel’s right side.
“N-no,” she stammered. “N-no heh-elp Ma-m-m-ma,” Rachel said. Them helping her meant she was weak. She was unable to take care of herself, and therefore unable to perform. The second they realized that she couldn’t and probably didn’t want to serve them as a proper pet, she’d be thrown out, so she was going to do as much as she could to delay the inevitable a little longer.
“Alright, let’s make a compromise, because you are communicating very well. Your body is not strong enough to walk on it’s own yet, however, I will stand behind you, with my hands on your hips to help steady you and guide you,” Shelby said. “That will be our compromise. Just like when you walk with the girls. They get under one side of you to help you along. Mama will stand behind you and be more of a guide,” Shelby told her and to her great relief, Rachel nodded her agreement. They took several steps and then made it into the kitchen and Rachel was already panting; the short walk taking up a lot of her breath control. She was nervous about meeting a new person. She wasn’t entirely thrilled about having Shelby behind her, and she felt sad that she still couldn’t prove she was a good pet after all these months of trying and training. Getting into the kitchen Shelby smiled, “Mom, well Grandma Rose, this is Rachel,” Shelby smiled.
“Well hello there my love,” Rose smiled. “Now I’m going to tell you this. You may call me Rose, or Grandma, if you like, because that is the option I gave the other three girls until they were completely comfortable with me. I will however tell you that when people ask I say I have three children, which would be your Daddy, Aunt Terri, and your Mama. She’s not mine, but I’ve known her since she was a very young lady and I’ve come to love her as my daughter. I also say I have three granddaughters, however that will now change to four. It’s Quinn, Santana, Brittany, and you. You are now and forever my granddaughter, just as they are. I will support you anyway I can in addition to what your parents do for you. I will spoil you, like any other grandmother would, and I will never force you to call me anything you’re not comfortable with. You are however, my granddaughter,” Rose explained and Rachel smiled politely and gratefully and nodded her agreement.
“Say thank you,” Shelby prompted kindly and Rachel seemed to freeze. “Rae-rae, it’s a judgement free house sweetheart. Any ego, gets checked at the doorstep and people can pick it up as they leave, you’re okay,” Shelby assured her. “However, I want you to say thank you to Grandma Rose, because that was a very long and proper introduction. Remember how we talked about respect going both way?” she asked and Rachel nodded. She remembered very well. “So since Grandma Rose was respectful to explain everything to you, we will respect her by saying thank you for that,” Shelby explained and Rose was almost floored. Shelby was her daughter in law and considered her daughter and so calm and gentle, pretty much all the time. To hear her have a slight Mistress tone to her voice, it was always a little startling somehow.
“Th-th-th-thank y-yo-ou,” Rachel said and she blushed heavily.
“Anytime,” Rose smiled. “And now that we have gotten the introductions out of the way, what do you say to having some apple cider with me? Rose asked. “We’ll get to know each other a little bit better over co*cktails,” Rose teased.
“I-i-i-i c-c-c-an-n’t d-d-d-dr-dree-ink,” Rachel pushed out carefully.
Rose processed what Rachel said and smiled kindly. “Not to worry my love. I can’t drink either. I was referring to the apple cider,” she said and Rachel nodded and blushed.
“You will find that Grandma Rose has a very interesting sense of humor,” Shelby explained and Rachel nodded as Shelby guided her to the bar stood, leaving one stool between Rose and Rachel so things were not as forced. “Would you like to join in the apple cider or would you like something else?” Shelby asked.
“Ci-der, puh-uh-lee-ease,” Rachel said.
“Alright, I will get you a glass, but first I want you to sit up here. Can you put a foot up on the brace bar. I’ll lift you the rest of the way,” Shelby said and Rachel nodded, carefully putting her hands on Shelby’s shoulders for balance. She felt Shelby flinch slightly, at the quick movement and pull her hands back as if she’d touched hot coals, then she slipped down to the floor, and put her bottom up in her air, causing a great deal of pain to run through her body.
“I don’t know how! I don’t know how!” Rachel cried, tears falling down her face and Rose looked just as surprised as Shelby, at the sudden outburst. Shelby took a deep breath and very carefully pulled Rachel into her lap and held her, rocking her slowly side to side. “I don’t know how,” Rachel cried, her breath catching in her throat as she did her best to communicate.
This was not easy for Rose to watch, but she decided to try something. She got down on the floor with them and took Rachel’s hand. “Look at Grandma sweetheart,” she said. She didn’t care if Rachel wanted it or not, Rachel was family, which made Rose, Grandma. “Look at me my darling. You’re in Mama’s arms and Grandma Rose is in front of you, and you my darling, you don’t have to know everything,” she said and Rachel looked at Rose in confusion. “Listen to me my love. Grandma doesn’t know everything, because Grandma shouldn’t know everything. Grandma only knows that two very bad men made you submit to them, and I promise you, in this house you don’t have to submit to anyone,” Rose explained and Rachel looked confused. “I promise you my sweet girl. In this house submission is not what you’re used to. Daddy and Mama submit to each other and to you girls and you girls submit to them. Submission is not sex my love. They are two very, very different things,” Rose explained.
“You know what baby? Mama and Rae-rae are going to pull out a dictionary and look up a word together,” Shelby said after a moment. “Grandma used a very interesting word just now, did you hear that word? It starts with and S, do you remember the word she said?” Shelby asked her gently.
“Suh-suh-suh-m-m-m-m-mit,” Rachel stuttered.
“Very good my sweet girl and Grandma also said that everyone in this house submits to everyone else at some point, did you hear that my love?” Shelby asked kindly and Rachel nodded. “That’s good, now we’re going to look on Mama’s phone and we’re going to look up the word submit. There are many definitions for one word sometimes, so we’re going to look that one up, and make sure you understand the difference between this house, which is your house, and the house you came from,” Shelby explained and Rachel nodded and whimpered softly.
Shelby pulled out her phone and then moved it in front of both her and Rachel so they could see it together. “We’ll type baby,” Shelby said. “You type the word submit for Mama,” Shelby said and Rachel did as asked. Her task was quickly rewarded with seven results and they went through each one together. The one that Shelby wanted to focus on, was the last one; to defer to another’s judgement, opinion, decision, etc. “This is what we focus on in this house. We focus on what others have to say. So right now, Mama is going to submit to Rae-rae, because she wants to hear what Rae-rae has to say,” Shelby said gently.
“I don’t know how Mama,” she cried, her voice still having no stutter in it what so ever.
“That is okay if you don’t know something. Use more words please. Can you tell me what it is you don’t know?” Shelby asked.
“Be used by a woman,” she pushed out and the words physically hurt Shelby’s heart. None of her girls had ever said a phrase like that.
“And now that Mama and Grandma have listened to Rachel, Grandma has something to say,” Rose said and they both looked at her. “Grandma feels like Rachel was abused and tortured and doesn’t understand that people are to be treated with kindness and respect. People are not meant to be used in any way shape or form,” Rose said.
“Rae-rae do you think that you can tell me what Grandma just said?” Shelby asked kindly once a she felt Rose’s words sunk in to Rachel’s head.
“N-n-n-no t-t-t-tor-ch-ure,” Rachel pushed out carefully.
“That is good enough for me,” Shelby smiled and she gave Rachel some very sweet and tender kisses to her temple. “You are a very good girl Rachel and Grandma is right, people are not meant to be used in any way shape or form. You will never be used in any way shape or form. If you never want to engage in sexual activity, you never have to. You are a beautiful person Rachel and I am proud to be your Mama,” Shelby told her and Rachel simply nodded, shifted and snuggled into Shelby. Being reminded that she had a Mama every so often was extremely important.
Dinner finished and the family move into the family room and everyone was gathered around Rose and her photo album. Rachel was tucked next to Rose’s side on the couch with the other girls surrounding her and Rose while Will and Shelby sat on the back of the couch, looking down on their family. Rose was going through a photo album, showing Rachel her pictures of the family and explaining anything Rachel had questions about.
Rose had all kinds of photos showing off poses, various head shots and candids, and some group shots as well. Rachel’s favorite picture so far though was the one that Rose took when she went to Alaska. Rose was standing on land, in front of a large glacier. There wasn’t anything special or unique about this picture, but she liked the way it looked. Everything was kind of gray and gloomy and yet there was so much beauty in that picture, it literally took her breath away. It was a photo that gave her hope. Maybe even though she’d been used and tortured and was gloomy herself, maybe the Scheusters could find some beauty in her. She began to wish for them to see her inner beauty. She didn’t understand that they already did.
Rose turned the pages slowly and then began to think out loud. “Well now that Grandma has four young ladies, I think we’re going to need a few photo shoots,” she said. “Have you ever been to a photo shoot Rae?” Rose asked and Rachel shook her head no, but stayed looking at the pictures. “Ah, well then we must have one. Sometimes I’ll call up your parents and tell them I want all of my girls in certain colors, or I want them all in a particular place, and we have a photo shoot. I show up with my camera and I make sure to get as many pictures as possible. You don’t always know I’m taking them either,” Rose grinned.
“Those are usually some of my favorites,” Shelby state quickly and the four girls turned to look at her in confusion. “Think anything you like, but they are. Watching you girls, in those photos, I get to see your true colors. I look at those photos all the time and I study your faces and I remember what you were doing or what we were talking about and I am reminded of how lucky I am to have such amazing girls, my girls, in my life and then I’m reminded of how amazing my other mother is, to take these photos, share them with me, and accept my girls as her granddaughters,” Shelby said.
“Mama,” Santana said scooting to kneel up on the couch so she was more level with Shelby. “Stop being sappy,” Santana teased and she kissed Shelby’s cheek and wrapped her arms around her neck, cuddling into her.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Shelby laughed as she playfully patted Santana’s bottom and held her just as close.
“I’m reminded of all those things too, but I didn’t want to sound like such a mush,” Will teased.
“I’m telling on you,” Shelby said with a playful grin.
“Fight nice children,” Rose smiled and she leaned down a bit so that only Rachel could hear her. “They’re a good family and I’m glad they’re mine, but they’re a bit crazy sometimes,” she said and Rachel smiled, snuggled in closer and went back to looking.
“Grandma, we all have new pajamas and we think it’ll make a good photo for you,” Quinn said.
“Oh yes, we do. We think you can get a good shot of us, and then frame it in your house, so you can say goodnight to us on your way to bed every night,” Brittany smiled.
“Well why doesn’t someone take me to see these new pajamas, or perhaps you can all model them for me,” Rose suggested, “because it just so happens that I have my camera with me,” she said.
“We can have a photo shoot now?” Santana asked happily.
“Of course we can,” Rose smiled.
“Before have the photo shoot, we all need to change and before that we should all probably have dessert, brush our teeth, get ready for bed, change into our pajamas and then have our photo shoot,” Will said.
“That seems like a lot of work,” Santana grouched.
“Well it does seem excessively early for bed, however, I do agree with what Daddy said and it’s not like I have far to go. If we finish too late, I will simply go next door and bother Aunt Terri,” she said.
“Aunt Terri would love to have you Grandma,” Brittany said wrapping her grandmother in a hug. “We all love you very much,” she said.
“Yes, we do, and I don’t like that you don’t think you can stay here,” Will said. “You are always welcome here Mom,” he told her.
“Yes my boy, and I will take you up on that offer very soon, however, tonight, is not that night,” she said and there was something in her voice that he recognized, but didn’t quite understand.
“Alright, well then all my girls head up to get ready for bed. We’ll get ready for bed first, we’ll all have dessert together, we’ll brush out teeth and then we’ll do this photo shoot,” he said and he looked at Shelby for a moment, silently telling her he needed time alone with his mother.
“I need all four of my girls to come upstairs then,” Shelby announced and Rachel reached her arms out in front of her for someone to help her. She couldn’t push herself to standing yet. Bending forward put too much tension in her abdomen and that was still a very tender area. Brittany got in front of her first and carefully pulled while Santana gently pushed from behind, but Quinn spoke up before the other three moved.
“Stop! Rae-rae, do you remember at therapy? You have to exhale on the move,” Quinn reminded her kindly.
“Seriously, this is when you pull the perfect card?” Santana grouched.
“I’m helping her!” Quinn growled.
“You’re showing off!” Santana growled.
“I’m going to have two young ladies with sore bottoms very soon. Quinn that was good helping. Santana she was only helping. The two of you will apologize for yelling at each other and then help Rachel to stand,” Shelby said seriously.
They did as asked and helped Rachel up and very carefully lead her out of the room, and once they were gone Will moved next to his mother and took her hand. “What do you know that I’m not aware of?” he asked.
“Do you know that your newest young lady “presented” herself to us in the kitchen and told us in a very hysterical, although very clear speech, that she didn’t know how to be used by a woman,” Rose asked him and he gave her a strange look. “She was used by men, you’ve told me that much, and you’ve told me she was abused, but she still feels that she has to do those things and she doesn’t know how to serve or submit to a woman. So your wife, my daughter, and your daughter, my granddaughter, sat down on the floor, Rachel in Shelby’s lap and I in front of her, going over the word submit, explaining how that term is used in this house, and that she will never have to serve or submit to someone in that manner ever again,” Rose explained. “She understood it in the moment, but I’m concerned it’s not going to stick for a while and if that poor girl has any memories invade her sleep, she’ll be up screaming. I think you and Shelby need to coddle her more than you’re doing right now. I see a little girl who is scared, who has possibly never had loving parents, has definitely never had siblings, and doesn’t know how to be in an honest loving family,” Rose said. “I know you can show her all of that, but you have to start from the very beginning, you have to baby her a little bit,” she said carefully. Like Shelby’s parents, she didn’t like to tell her children how to parent. It wasn’t her place. She was meant to be a grandmother and spoil. For this particular circ*mstance though, she couldn’t not say something. It seemed pretty crucial.
“I accept and agree with everything you just said, but Mom, why do you think you being here will make that not happen?” he asked curiously.
“Your daughters need you my love, and I, as their grandmother, well I like to sleep and when my granddaughters have night terrors, which I’ve heard about, it makes it more difficult for an old woman to go back to sleep and it makes it even harder to not want to jump in and parent, or help parent. She doesn’t need parenting from me, she needs you and Shelby, and I do not want to interrupt that,” Rose said honestly.
“And you promise me, that’s all it is?” he asked cautiously making her laugh at how sweet and loving he was being.
“Yes. I’ve done parenting. My children are grown and happy and know that they are loved. I’ve had my turn. Now it’s yours,” she smiled.
Upstairs the girls were now clean and all wrapped in towels. “Mama, when does Rae-rae get hers?” Brittany asked pulling her own towel tighter around her body.
“We’ll have to see how therapy classes go my loves. Rachel I promise as soon as you are ready to walk, we are going to go shopping and on your shopping trip you get to pick out several things,” Shelby said.
“What if she tells you now and you or Daddy or someone buy it tomorrow,” Brittany said. She really wanted Rachel to have things like them. Whether she decided to stay with them or not, Brittany was convinced that was her sister and she deserved everything they got. She wanted her to have the bed, towel, lounge chair, painted walls, plates and dishes, bed sheets, and the little accessories that would go in the bathroom; toothbrush, hairbrush, comb, and the small plastic bucket of hair accessories that would sit atop the shelf over the toilet.
“We’ll discuss it sweetheart, but right now, Mama and all her girls, all four of you, are going to go into the bedroom, have a seat on the bed and have a talk. We need to talk about something very important,” Shelby said and they all nodded, carefully getting into their pajamas and Rachel simply let Shelby get her dressed, not fighting any little bit, surprised that she was in her black footed pajamas. She knew she’d wet her pair this morning, but it looked like the same pair, so she decided to ask.
“Ma-ma?” she asked softly. “Ha-ow muh-meh-ny of, th-th-thi-eese?’ she asked pulling lightly on the pajama sleeve.
“Only one baby. Everyone has only one pair of these pajamas,” she said.
“Buh-ut I weh-et th-th-them,” she said.
“They make these new contraptions called washers and dryers,” Santana sassed.
“Lose the attitude my little adventure queen,” Shelby said seriously and Santana frowned. Shelby pet her face gently and the frown melted away. Then Shelby looked to Rachel. “Yes you did, and even in her sarcasm and attitude, Sanny is right. We simply washed them and got them clean for you to wear tonight, but right now, we’re going to go sit on Mama and Daddy’s bed and talk,” Shelby said.
Quinn and Brittany got under Rachel’s arms and helped her to the bedroom while Shelby pulled Santana’s hair out of her face and braided it for her, just as she’d done with the other girls. “Alright my darling girl. Now you match your sisters and we’ll have our talk, before we have our photo shoot. Are you ready?” Shelby asked and Santana nodded. She was scared, but she wasn’t going to say that. Shelby seemed to sense it however and she gave her a quick cuddle and kissed her cheek. “You’re a good girl, and I love you,” she said before guiding her into the bedroom and then moved to sit on the bed with her girls. They made a little circle together and Shelby spoke kindly to them. “Alright my sweet girls, I need everyone to have their best listening skills going,” she said and they all nodded, even Rachel, indicating they were ready for this. “Who remembers what we did last night?” she asked.
“Camp in the living room,” Brittany said raising her hand.
“Very good sweetheart,” Shelby smiled. “Now, who remembers how we woke up?” she asked.
“NO NO NO!” Rachel started and Shelby sighed. She pulled her closer and sat her in her lap so that Rachel was cuddled up tight to her Mama and the other three girls sat facing them.
“Shhh, no yelling my love. It’s okay. You have a condition to a noise, not to the word and we won’t make the noise, do you want to tell Mama how we all woke up this morning?” she ventured carefully.
“Doorbell,” Rachel said sadly and Shelby gave a sad smile. No stutter potentially meant a lot of adrenaline and fear.
“Very good baby, yes, the doorbell rang,” Shelby said and Quinn could see tears welling up in Rachel’s eyes.
“But that isn’t Rae’s fault, she shouldn’t be in trouble Mama,” Quinn whined softly.
“She isn’t in trouble baby. No one is in trouble, everyone take a breath with me,” Shelby said and she breathed for her girls, waiting until they were all breathing with her. She needed them as calm as possible. After a few breaths, the girls were calm and Shelby continued. “After the doorbell rang what happened?”
“Sanny said a word Daddy didn’t approve of and she had to write sentences on the board,” Brittany said and Shelby smiled while Santana blushed slightly.
“Yes, that happened, what else?” Shelby asked.
“Daddy took Rae into the bathroom and Bree and I went in to try and help,” Quinn said and Shelby smiled proudly.
“Yes, and then there was one more thing that no one knows about, except Daddy. Mama went to the door to see who was there and no one was. There was however a simple brown package with no return address on it, but a sticker that had someone’s name on it,” she explained.
“Mine,” Rachel said tearfully. “They’re coming. They found me and they’re going to hurt you all. I have to leave,’ Rachel said, tears falling faster and Shelby saw all the girls look upset and Rachel started to struggle, so she pulled her close and spoke firmly.
“Slow down my love,” Shelby said and she carefully tightened her grip on Rachel. “You are not leaving us, unless you want to Rachel. That was true for your sisters and it’s true for you too. You are not leaving us, unless you want to.”
“They found me though,” Rachel hiccuped, afraid to move, feeling her body lock up with pain.
“They actually haven’t,” Shelby said and Santana looked up in shock as did Quinn and Brittany.
“Yes,” Rachel whined.
“No baby. They didn’t. As soon as Mama saw what it was she called Mr. Bruce to tell him and get us help. The men who had you, they know people, who know people, who know Mister Bruce. They had reached out to him about meeting more people in general. In the long run, we’ve learned they hurt a very innocent young man about six months ago. The little boxes were sent to four houses of the circle, three more places of the people Mister Bruce knows and the police have been informed.”
“They won’t find them,” Rachel cried and she started to shake. “Mama, I’m sorry. Not safe, I can’t stay. I can’t. You’re all in danger because of me,” Rachel whimpered.
“No my baby girl, listen very carefully to the Mama. The bad men who hurt you, they were caught. The police found them, we’re all very safe, just as we were before, and now maybe a little bit safer. I know this is very scary for all of you girls, but I don’t want you to be in the dark about things. Daddy and I believe you should know everything that is going on,” Shelby said. “Even though I’d like to keep the four of you as innocent as possible,” she added kindly.
“They’ll find me and get out of jail and take me. You’re all in danger Mama,” Rachel said seriously.
“No baby, the men are locked away and they are going to stay there. Mister Bruce is pressing charges on behalf of you and Brian. It’s all going to be okay,” Shelby said and Rachel nodded, but Shelby knew she didn’t really believe her. She couldn’t do anymore though, so she let it go and kept her girls close for a while. “Does anyone have any questions?” she asked and not one girl raised their hand, even though there were a million questions turning in their minds. “Alright then, everyone downstairs to be with Daddy and Grandma. Rae and Mama will be down in a minute,” she said and she sent the girls out of the room.
Shelby carefully moved to the special chair in the room, carrying Rachel with her, and then rocked her gently, lulling Rachel into a calmer state. “Rae-rae, do you think Mama would ever do something to you that would harm you?” she asked her.
“No Mama,” she said honestly.
“That’s right, I wouldn’t. I have nothing but your best interest at heart. I need you to believe that as I say what I have to say next okay?” she asked and Rachel nodded silently. “I watched my sweet girl at therapy today and I saw you fight. You fought so hard and you are so strong and made me a very proud Mama. I am concerned though that you want to fight everything all at once and that’s just a lot more energy than you have stored up inside of you. So in order to help you with your fight and assist you in healing faster, we’re going to put you in diapers,” Shelby said and she waited for the fighting to begin.
